Sanchez amendments adopted in two Homeland Security bills

The House Committee on Homeland Security unanimously approved amendments on Tuesday authored by U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) on two different counterterrorism measures.

The first bill, the Community Counterterrorism Preparedness Act, H.R. 5859, establishes a grant program to help major metropolitan areas prepare for and respond to terror attacks that include active shooters. Sanchez’s amendment instructs the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide unclassified threat information and best practices to grant applicants.

“This minor fix is consistent with our need to integrate and coordinate our federal and state efforts to fight and prevent threats on the homeland,” Sanchez said. “With this change we not only provide needed funds to help regions prepare for attacks, we also give them critical tips and best practices to help them respond.”

The second bill, the Cyber Preparedness Act of 2016, H.R. 5459, clarifies that DHS grants for states and urban areas can be used for similar statewide initiatives. Sanchez’s amendment will help increase the capability of states and local entities to utilize DHS grants to improve cybersecurity sharing dissemination and threat identification.

“Data breaches threaten the security and economic well-being of our nation,” Sanchez said. “Given our increased reliance on cyber technology for commerce and critical infrastructure, and given the increasing sophistication of hackers who would do us harm, we must improve our efforts to identify, neutralize, and prevent cyber-attacks.”